03/03/2021
Fairfield/Fletcher town line
Sugaring Season collection #2 - please feel free to share
John H. Knox - photographer
A week ago we started the sugaring season collection showing the gathering of sap. Today we move to the next big step - collecting the sap. Several viewers were most interested in sugaring the "old fashion way" so we will try to stay with that idea.
Today in Vermont we are experiencing -35 degrees wind chill, probably the coldest day of the winter, so obviously this image was not taken today. It is taken at the Howrigan Farm in Franklin County (best county in Vermont for sugaring). I was most impressed with the horses who move from one collection stop to the next with little or no instruction. The men are on snowshoes and collect the sap out of the buckets on the trees, pour into the 5 gallon buckets and then pour into the large tank on the sled.
A couple of math facts to keep in mind when talking sugaring: 1. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup (this varies depending on the sugar content of the sap, which will change dramatically during the season) Thus 39 gallons of water must be boiled off. More about this later.
2. The number of taps divided by 4 gives an approximate number of gallons of syrup produced for the season. Thus if a farmer has 1000 taps he will make approimately 1000/4 = 250 gallon of syrup.
Stay with us for lots more sugaring experiences.
